Sazmanab is a curatorial platform which originally started as an artist-run space and residency programme in Tehran in 2008. Sazmanab creates curatorial projects and supports artistic work in a wide range of media through exhibitions and events, residencies for artists, curators and researchers, educational initiatives, workshops, talks, and publications.
History
Sazmanab was founded in 2008 by artist and curator Sohrab Kashani and was originally based in Sadeghiyeh district in the Western part of Tehran. Sazmanab, in Persian, means Department of Water. In 2008 and when first opened, Sazmanab was located in a small apartment, directly across the street from Tehran’s Department of Water for the Sadeghiyeh district. In 2009, Sazmanab expanded into a fully functioning project space where a variety of events and activities were held in collaboration with local and international artists and curators.
Move downtown
In early 2014, Sazmanab began the relocation process to an old building on Khaghani street near Darvaze Dolat in downtown Tehran. Kashani together with his new partners acquired the entire building on Khaghani street. His plans were to expand Sazmanab and to start a new art gallery space, called Ab/Anbar in the same building. The renovations at Sazmanab-Ab/Anbar took over a year to fully complete. The renovations were to keep the building in its original shape, reinforce its structure, and make few minor adjustments for its future use as an art centre. Sazmanab had its reopening and the launch of the new Ab/Anbar gallery in October 2014 with an exhibition by Iranian-born artist Babak Golkar. In 2015, Sohrab left Ab/Anbar but continued Sazmanab's programming in the Khaghani building. In early 2016 and after he held his last Sazmanab exhibition - the Tehran retrospective of Harun Farocki, curated by Reza Haeri - he left the Khaghani building. Over the years, Sazmanab has held some of its programming off-site in collaboration with other art spaces and art galleries. As of 2016, Sazmanab no longer has its own space and hosts exhibitions and events off-site in collaboration with other spaces and venues.
Exhibitions and Events
Since 2008, Sazmanab has set up more than hundred events and exhibitions at its venues and in off-site locations. Events included talks, presentations, lectures, panels, discussions, workshops, performances, screenings, book launches, and audio/visual performances. As of 2018, Sazmanab focuses on creating its own projects and publications, and no longer produces or hosts events and exhibitions that are not part of its main projects' outline. Sazmanab often holds talks and presentations at universities, museums, and institutions and takes part in international panels, seminars, and forums.
Live-stream
Most of Sazmanab's exhibition openings and events were streamed live and were accessible through Sazmanab's website. Viewers were able to chat and comment online as broadcast happened. At other times and when there was no programming at Sazmanab, the live-stream would stream Kashani at his home living and working out of his bedroom/office of Sazmanab.
Residency Program
Shortly after Sazmanab's renovations in 2010, Sazmanab began its residency program. Sazmanab was the first residency program in Tehran. While some resident artists were housed in the apartment where Sazmanab was located, other resident artists were provided with living and working space in other areas of Tehran. Since 2010, Sazmanab has hosted more than fifty artists and curators in residence.
Library
Sazmanab's library has a variety of books, journals, and other publications related to art and cultural discourses and the social sciences. While there is an assortment of texts, there are specific sections dedicated to art history, monographs on artists, and exhibition catalogues featuring the work of artists from Iran, the Middle East, and other parts of the world. The library also contains the publications produced by Sazmanab. As of 2016 and the closure of Sazmanab's venue at Khaghani, the library is available by appointment only.
The Digital Archives of Sazmanab included the documentation of all Sazmanab's events and programmes, archived CCTV footage of Sazmanab, and Sazmanab's video-art archive Lost in Tehran. The Sazmanab Digital Archives was available at the Sazmanab former venue in the Sadeghiyeh district and was accessible to the public who visited Sazmanab. Lost in Tehran is a database of Iranian video work and film formed by Sazmanab in 2011 and made public in 2012 and throughout 2013 before Sazmanab's relocation in 2014. Founded in 2011, Tehran Video is an innovative platform for artists working with film. It encompasses a full database of historical and contemporary video works and represents the depth and range of the moving image within Iran. Since its inception, the mission of Tehran Video has been to collect and catalogue a large variety of different works that are made available for screenings, exhibitions, and acquisitions. The database is a resource for artists, educational institutions, museums, galleries, cultural centres, and collectors. This archive is made available to the public through its programming and Sazmanab's events.
Sazmanab TV
Sazmanab TV was launched in 2011 and produced features of exhibitions in Tehran and interviews with Iranian art practitioners. Sazmanab TV also made studio visits and off-site live transmissions part of its program. Sazmanab TV is planned to re-launch in 2019 with a new set of programming and a change in its original format.
